World Tour Soccer 2006
Posted May 1, 2005
World Tour 2006 features 935 different teams from around the globe. Teams range from international squads like England, America, etc, to those from the American MLS and the European Premier league. You can be guaranteed to find your favorite squad in the game, and along with these 935 teams come 19,000 real players. Players can take pictures of themselves and create a player using their Eye Toy, which adds a nice level of customization. The game also comes ready in four languages; a nice touch.
Gameplay:
World Tour Soccer features some pretty nice gameplay. The games are actually fun, which of course is the first criteria for a good game. Players can choose from four difficulty levels and adjust the lengths of halfs, injuries, fouls, and all that jazz.
The physics engine is pretty realistic and allows for the player to do some fun, and accurate to real life, things with the ball. Passing is crisp and you are able to do great one touch combos. Sometimes controlling the player themselves is a bit clunky unfortunately.
The AI is also not anything to write home about. When on offense, you can dribble all around the computer controlled players or just stop without them making any effort. This changes considerably on different skill levels, but is a little ridiculous at the lower two; amateur and pro. When on defense you can take advantage of the poor AI and force some ridiculous shots. The computer controlled players will also dribble around like idiots sometimes when allowed.
The different modes are not all that different, although the career mode adds a lot of depth to the game and is an enjoyable venture into managing a soccer team. Exhibition allows the player to just pick two teams and have at it quickly after adjusting a few variables including half length and difficulty level.
The challenge mode is exactly that, challenging. You will be randomly assigned a team and you will have to play a team ranked better than you. You get points for playing stylishly with nice passing and goal scoring. While on defense you get points for shutouts and clean play. Your score is penalized if you play like a thug or shoot like a madman. After you think you have racked up a high enough score, you can upload your challenge mode scores and compare them with others online. This mode is an interesting idea, even if I did get stomped by the computer 4-0 each time I tried it. (My overall score was a 0 if anyone wonders)
Career mode is the main draw. In career mode you will take your team from school league play all the way to the professional ranks. You can adjust your team name, uniforms, and add your custom players to the squad before starting competition. After you advance through the school season, you get to semi-professional leagues, and finally to the pros. This is a great progress system. The professional leagues offer all the goodies of course. As a club manager you have access to trades and free agents, having to adjust payroll along the way. Playing all the way up to the pros takes a good deal of time, so players will most likely not stop playing this title for lack of content, but rather out of the repetition that can develop with playing nearly twenty seasons.
Graphics:
The animations of the game look pretty good. Goal celebrations are really nice, and there is a good variety of them. The player models look okay, especially during the celebrations, but their movements are a little clumsy looking at some points, particularly when stopping and starting. Another high point is the grass and environments, which look awesome. The grass will degrade in poor weather, but not actually slow the ball down.
Audio:
The sound is pretty sparse and laughable. There is good noise from the crowd when playing in a full stadium. The commentator is unfortunately inaccurate. He will make some really off comments.
Conclusion:
I really enjoyed the game. The gameplay itself is plenty enjoyable. The action all progresses very realistically with great passing, shooting, throwing, punting, etc. There are a variety of modes, and the main mode, career, has a lot to offer in terms of replay and sheer volume in the amount of games required to beat it. The graphics get the job done. The player celebrations are noteworthy and deserve commendation, even if the players faces' are pretty goofy. The sound is one of the main drawbacks. The commentator is just too inaccurate at times, which can be pretty distracting. This is still a darn good soccer title and will make most fans of the sport happy while being very accessible to those who do not follow the game.
Gameplay:
World Tour Soccer features some pretty nice gameplay. The games are actually fun, which of course is the first criteria for a good game. Players can choose from four difficulty levels and adjust the lengths of halfs, injuries, fouls, and all that jazz.
The physics engine is pretty realistic and allows for the player to do some fun, and accurate to real life, things with the ball. Passing is crisp and you are able to do great one touch combos. Sometimes controlling the player themselves is a bit clunky unfortunately.
The AI is also not anything to write home about. When on offense, you can dribble all around the computer controlled players or just stop without them making any effort. This changes considerably on different skill levels, but is a little ridiculous at the lower two; amateur and pro. When on defense you can take advantage of the poor AI and force some ridiculous shots. The computer controlled players will also dribble around like idiots sometimes when allowed.
The different modes are not all that different, although the career mode adds a lot of depth to the game and is an enjoyable venture into managing a soccer team. Exhibition allows the player to just pick two teams and have at it quickly after adjusting a few variables including half length and difficulty level.
The challenge mode is exactly that, challenging. You will be randomly assigned a team and you will have to play a team ranked better than you. You get points for playing stylishly with nice passing and goal scoring. While on defense you get points for shutouts and clean play. Your score is penalized if you play like a thug or shoot like a madman. After you think you have racked up a high enough score, you can upload your challenge mode scores and compare them with others online. This mode is an interesting idea, even if I did get stomped by the computer 4-0 each time I tried it. (My overall score was a 0 if anyone wonders)
Career mode is the main draw. In career mode you will take your team from school league play all the way to the professional ranks. You can adjust your team name, uniforms, and add your custom players to the squad before starting competition. After you advance through the school season, you get to semi-professional leagues, and finally to the pros. This is a great progress system. The professional leagues offer all the goodies of course. As a club manager you have access to trades and free agents, having to adjust payroll along the way. Playing all the way up to the pros takes a good deal of time, so players will most likely not stop playing this title for lack of content, but rather out of the repetition that can develop with playing nearly twenty seasons.
Graphics:
The animations of the game look pretty good. Goal celebrations are really nice, and there is a good variety of them. The player models look okay, especially during the celebrations, but their movements are a little clumsy looking at some points, particularly when stopping and starting. Another high point is the grass and environments, which look awesome. The grass will degrade in poor weather, but not actually slow the ball down.
Audio:
The sound is pretty sparse and laughable. There is good noise from the crowd when playing in a full stadium. The commentator is unfortunately inaccurate. He will make some really off comments.
Conclusion:
I really enjoyed the game. The gameplay itself is plenty enjoyable. The action all progresses very realistically with great passing, shooting, throwing, punting, etc. There are a variety of modes, and the main mode, career, has a lot to offer in terms of replay and sheer volume in the amount of games required to beat it. The graphics get the job done. The player celebrations are noteworthy and deserve commendation, even if the players faces' are pretty goofy. The sound is one of the main drawbacks. The commentator is just too inaccurate at times, which can be pretty distracting. This is still a darn good soccer title and will make most fans of the sport happy while being very accessible to those who do not follow the game.